Acquainted With The Night working title
by St. Geneva
Summary: This fic looks into the possiblities of surviving the explosion of Dana Bahn.
1. Chapter 1

_Ai no Kusabi is © to Yoshihara Rieko. In this fic I used works of other authors, namely Robert Frost for this part._ The action of this fic is taking place soon after the explosion at Dana Bahn. This fic is rated PG-14.

**Acquainted with the Night**

_I have been once acquainted with the night._

_I have walked out in rain -- and back in rain._

_I have outwalked the furthest city light._

_I have looked down the saddest city lane._

_I have passed by the watchman on his beat_

_And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain._(Edna St Vincent Millay

**Prologue**

He was back on that ship, definitely. No, wait, that was a yacht... Raoul and he had once borrowed a yacht from their common acquaintance and set sail to the sea when the storm broke out. They had seen the heavy black clouds gathering but they took the risk as they thought they would manage to return ashore safely in time.

They didn't.

The storm rocked the small yacht from side to side like God his toy, up and down, up and down, up and down… He was vomiting without stopping. Finally, a giant wave engulfed the yacht, washing its sails away. Raoul yelled in pain when the falling metal piece of a pole hit him and broke his arm.

He didn't remember how they got back to the shore. They were unconscious when the wave spit them out on the deserted beach on the outskirts of Tanagura along with the remains of the yacht, and they remained there lying for hours under the cruel sunrays until the rescue team paged them. Raoul's left elbow had to be replaced by a prosthetic one and the tips of his fingers were numb to the present day.

Jupiter was terrified.

And now he was back aboard.

When he slowly opened his eyes and looked around what was surrounding him, he realised he was not on the yacht. He was in a VIP ward in Midas Central Hospital.

**To Be Continued…**


	2. Chapter 2

**Acquainted with the Night **

**Chapter I**

_Outside the gates of heaven_

_Oh, there lives a unicorn_

_I close my eyes to seven_

_Oh, this world is not my home (Modern Talking)_

Katze once more shifted his weight from one side to the other in the uncomfortable plastic chair in the hospital corridor in the reanimation section, hiding another cigarette-end into the pot of the nearby plant. The first raindrops touched the window and soon it was raining heavily, though with the sun. There should be a rainbow when the sky clears. He hadn't seen a rainbow for... He changed his pose once more as his blistered feet ached beyond complaints. His eyes were red (and even narrower than his usual complexion would allow) from the lack of sleep during the past days, and his head was spinning as if he was hit with a sack of wet sand. Katze suddenly felt battered and torn, and what was the worst part of it, he felt old.

When Elite Units contacted Iason's Penthouse eight days ago to tell Daryl that the robotic units had recovered the said bodies from what was left of the entire place, Katze had been on the move. And it was only this morning they learned Iason would live.

Raoul Am was in charge of Amoi now. He was immediately assigned his office when Iason's identification implant shut down, officially proclaiming its holder dead. And what was the freakiest part of the whole matter, in the terms of Jupiter and Amoi, Iason Mink _was_ dead. His implant was smashed to atoms and there was no duplicate for the replacement: Jupiter did not believe in life after death. Now Iason Mink could not command even the doors of his apartments to open for him. In fact, he no more had any apartment at all, whatsoever. In terms of Jupiter and Amoi, Iason Mink simply did not anymore exist.

Katze sighed. There was a bathroom nearby. He stuck the sinkhole with what he could find in his pockets, filled the sink with cold water, and washed his face until he felt the skin was about to come off.

When he returned to the hall he felt an immediate desire to dash back to the bathroom and sit there for an hour or two: Raoul Am was standing by the doors to Iason's ward and having a private conversation with the doctor. Daryl was timidly standing nearby, shifting from one foot onto another, eavesdropping. One of the new rules that Raoul introduced in his new household was that Furniture and Pets would only speak up when asked. For a moment, Katze wondered what'd be Riki's opinion about the matter, and a sad smile was forming on his thin pale lips. When Katze got closer, Raoul ended the conversation, dismissed the doctor by a casual nod of the head and entered Iason's ward without paying any attention to the two Furnitures. Daryl sighed, Katze made a face.

'What was it all about?'- wondered Katze, watching the back of the doctor, who was going away just like that, as if a threat to the global stability of the planet wouldn't be lying in one of his wards, connected to a myriad of devices as proof of life. Though, it's true, one cannot be too personal about one's job, not on Amoi. On Amoi one was either on the top or on the bottom, and only very rarely in the middle.

'Sir Iason suffered extreme shock and he was badly hit, bruised and burnt; but now he woke up and is recovering fast, even though he spent so many days in coma. He'll be released this week unless Sir Raoul makes other arrangements.'

'And how are you getting on with your new Master?'- asked Katze, skipping the 'Sir Raoul' part, and- to Daryl's horrification- mouthing a new cigarette.

'He's…demanding,'- muttered Daryl and his mouth twisted when Katze flashed the lighter.

'More than Iason?'- insisted Katze. –'Impossible.'

'You mustn't smoke here.'

Katze took a long look at Daryl, then killed the fuming cigarette at the metal wastebasket's edge and leaned closer to the other Furniture, inhaling the pleasant scent of the soap that Daryl was wearing.

'Is it true that Raoul checked you?'- asked the Katze.

'Wh...what are you talking about?'

'That he checked if you are really a virgin.'

'Yes,'- Daryl flushed terribly.

'And he brought a doctor for that?'

'Yes.'

'And what was the answer?'

'…….'

'Was he satisfied with the answer?'- insisted Kazte.

'That's none of your damned business!'

'To my mind, Raoul is the one not minding his damned business. Perhaps he has some sick voyeuristic fantasy about Iason being a sex maniac and hitting on everything or everybody that moves around his household; that would explain much about Raoul. Though, after Iason placed Riki in the household, he did stop chasing after Furnitures. Did you know that Iason used to have a peculiar… taste for fair hair?'- Katze meaningfully took a long strand of Daryl's hair and with pleasure let it run through fingers, with satisfaction noticing the again twisting face of the other Furniture,-'say, Daryl, such a delicate creature like you… obedient…tamed…always readily available…Didn't you give Iason even a single moment of pleasure in all these years? Not even a short moment of passion?'

'Of course, not!'

'Oh, yes, you are a virgin, I forgot. Say, Daryl, did you enjoy the procedure?'

'I…I shouldn't be listening to you….'- whispered Daryl, biting his lip to blood with humiliation and shame, beginning to tremble.

'Right,'- smirked Katze, -'he inherited you after Iason legally, anyway.'

Daryl didn't answer to that. The memories of that night came back over and with a new force engulfed his mind. He shivered more with what he remembered.

'_Put your hands on the table and lean over,'- commanded Raoul. When the confused Furnitures obeyed the order, he went over to a fromer Iason's chair and made himself comfortable in it. For a moment there was silence when the doctor was putting on his gloves and looking for the instrument, then began with the first Furniture in line. For another few minutes the only sound in the room was a surprised yelp of the penetrated one. When the man came to Daryl, he felt rubber fingers penetrating between his buttocks and then a warm metal slid in. For the next moment, the stretching was an uncomfortable feeling that made Daryl give a moan but then he felt the finger moving inside him, which was even more uncomfortable and unusual but in a weird sense pleasurable. Then, it was over. _

'_They are all virgins, Sir.'- declared the doctor. _

'You shameful flirt,'- said Daryl, his cheeks still on fire.

'But you like it,'- smirked Katze, –'admit it. I find you to be quite seductive, really. They say, I was jealous of you taking over me at Mink's household. That's a lie. When one spends enough time there, one comes to realize there's nothing so special about Mink's household, or any other household for that matter. It's just work. And I hear you are doing well there.'

'I received good education. And it's Am's household now.'

The doors of Iason's ward slid apart and a tall figure of Raoul showed up on the threshold. Among them all, he looked his best even though he spent the same restless time. There must be something about this Blondie thing, thought Katze, looking at Raoul by the corner of his eye (there was something in Raoul's eyes that made one feel really bad while looking direct into the eye; Iason didn't seem to have anything of the sort). After all, Raoul had most to win and most to lose, depending on the course of events.

Raoul passed past Katze without any hint of recognition. Daryl seemed to linger on for about a second or two, and then hurried after the Blondie, keeping a safe respectable distance of exactly three steps behind. At the elevators, Daryl turned to wave goodbye to Katze, and disappeared in the metal cabin.

Katze didn't see Daryl bid goodbye. Something was so familiar in that Blondie…There was something, deeply buried in the past; Katze just couldn't put his finger on it.

And then he remembered. A delicate cargo of exotic animal pets from warm climate lands that once had to be delivered to their new owner avoiding the quarantine period (some Blondies were so good at violating the laws just to get their desires attended to that even Katze found it sometimes offensive). There was an impressive huge hairy glistening Tarantula with a set of eyes around his head, detached and devoid of any emotions, sitting in its net and waiting…a symbol of eternal life…After the cargo was gone, Katze couldn't get rid of the spider's stare for days, it seemed to have stuck to him. But with time, other things happened, and the stare was put at the backseat of his memories. And it took eight days near Raoul for the feeling to come back. Katze shivered.

**End Chapter I. To Be Continued.**


	3. Chapter 3

In 100 years

Love is illegal in this lonely, heartbreak town

In 100 years

Love is illegal

All your dreams will die (Modern Talking)

Two Weeks Later

'I am glad you are better,'- said Raoul as he filled Iason's glass with wine. The crimson liquid silently splashed into the glass. Daryl finished with serving the refreshments and silently left the room, leaving the two Blondies to continue their conversation in private.

'I'm grateful that you should let me stay here,'- replied Iason. - 'What's that with Daryl? He doesn't look himself.'

'That's the least I can do for you. It used to be your Penthouse, after all. Daryl… Does that matter? Better tell me how does it feel to be a new you?'-Raoul rested his chin in his palm as he carefully examined Iason's face across the richly-laid table.

'Strange,'- Iason fingered his left temple and sighed, -'and my head feels empty. Moments I get the feeling I am lost in a vast labyrinth and after every turning there is another turning. It feels like a cath-22. I feel so…disconnected. I don't remember even Riki's pet ring number.'

'But that's awful. That you are alive but you are striped off all your privileges, I mean. Even though you officially died at that explosion, Syndicate Ambassadors are fully aware of the fact you are alive and I doubt whether they would follow my orders though they are smart enough to keep their mouths shut, and I can't allow you to be in charge as you are officially proclaimed dead. You cannot access Tanagura's Head Computer!'

'I can't access even my home computer, at that. But what was the worst of this whole thing, it was Jupiter, her attitude towards me. She…she simply replaced me, erased from the system. Since I've lost that identification implant, I am a non-citizen, and I lost that direct contact I used to have with her. There is no way the two of us can talk.'

'That reminds me,'- Raoul rose from his chair and went over to the chest of drawers that he installed lately, even though the furniture choice for the room was flawless, took out a small parcel and handed it over to Iason, -'this should suffice for the time being.'

He sat down again and sipped his wine. Now he could enjoy, even indulge in, a greater variety of goods inaccessible to the greater part of the Amoi population, but even this was of little comfort. He knew what he really owned was only a sandcastle.

In the parcel, there was a serpent-like silver arm bracelet with eyes of emerald for the snake. Iason fastened it on his wrist and the exquisite item flashed ablaze in the rays of the afternoon sun. It was a real masterpiece and a suitable gift for an aristocrat, and that Iason noted with content. He couldn't expect anything less from Raoul.

'I had our best jewellery makers and programmers do it,'- explained Raoul. –'There is an identification chip inside so that you could operate the Penthouse and access your new bank account. I transferred 5 000 000, but tell me if you should need more. Though, mechas and Tanagura's Tower are inaccessible to you. Just this Penthouse and cash vending machines, and you can also make transactions. Only I would not be going shopping in public if I were you. Daryl can attend to your needs.'

'Thank you. This situation cannot continue forever. I will have to find a way to talk to Jupiter. But as for now…I'm overwhelmed.'

'Why?'- Raoul crossed his long legs in a new white silk robe and leaned back in his chair. There was a particular thing about Blondie's dress code. Unless on some special occasion or for some really special purpose, all Elite wore long robes, covering utmost of their bodies: long sleeves, long trousers, scarves, shoes, sometimes boots, even gloves in all seasons. Expose as little of your body as possible, was the message. Was it to contrast to pets who, in most cases, wore as much as jewellery and chains, and a pair of embroidered sandals? -'That I am not trying to take over you?'

'Yes.'

'I must confess that I had fantasies about becoming the First Consule of Amoi. I used to see myself all in fame and glory. I imagined what changes I could bring about with all that ultimate. But then one morning, when I was having my shower, this damned thing,'- Raoul fingered his left temple, -'switched on and I lost myself. All I see is a weird green matrix of codes, blocking my vision. I twice stumbled over in an empty place. And, what is more, I finally realised that it's not that great being you.'

'Thank you.'

'I mean…'

'Never mind. When your mind gets used to it, the matrix will cease.'

'The sooner the better.'

'Does it hurt?'

'Sometimes.'

'You feel pain only when Jupiter enters new information. With the time, pain will also cease.'

'Were we born with these implants?'

'Actually, it was Her random selection in the nursery among those who had implants to be installed. They are organic and so delicate that even mind scanning machines cannot detect them, so it's not your fault that you didin't discover it earlier.'

'You mean, there are more like us?'- Raoul leaned forward in his chair.

'Yes, but I don't know how many. It's kept secret so that Blondies with implants wouldn't try to overrule each other for more power. But implants are ranked in order so that when the signal of the activated implant dies, the next one switches on.'

'And Amoi has a new Head of the Syndicate and the First Consule.'

'Precisely. It could have been your implant the first to be activated, as I have already said, it was a random selection.'- and suddenly Iason felt sorry. Some information should never be out.

'Really? And what were my chances?'- Raoul was taken aback.

'The probability was as high as 38'

'And how do you know?'- asked Raoul, even more surprised at Iason's being so precise.

'I checked in Jupiter's files. She has them in a special librarian folder called 'Genesis'. But it's difficult to locate it in Her system, unless you know what you're looking for. She's good at backuping information.'

Raoul sat there silently for a long moment. It was more than one to three that he would be First Consule of Amoi from the start, and everything, that once belonged to Iason, could have been his! While he was pondering upon the possibilities lost, Iason carefully watched Raoul and observed, what emotions passed through his friend's face-at this point, Raoul was bad at hiding his true feelings. Even though Iason still walked with difficulty after spending hours and hours under the ruins, nearly choking with stone dust as he yelled his lungs out, imprisoned motionless under the piles of brick and metal waste, fully conscious of a slow death coming and aware of the fact that Riki's pulped body was… he still looked pretty normal in terms of his physical state, though it was a miracle he didn't lose his mind. He even refused to use a walking stick.

'I am limited to a number of operations, ' –Raul spoke up after the pause, -'why would Jupiter need a cyborg? Where did the ultimate power go?'

'That's called a division of powers. The scientists that created Her thought it would be wise to divide the ultimate power for several bodies instead of concentrating it in one. That's a part of Her contract with Amoi.'

'There are so many things I don't know about our origins.'

'That should be in the Library.'

'Oh?'- Raoul's gaze shifted from Iason onto the bookshelves in the room, that towered high, filled with tons of books that made Mink's dining room a must-see.

'No, that library,'- Iason touched his left temple by the tip of his white-gloved finger.

'There is a library in there?'

'Yes. Close your eyes and bring the matrix in front of your eyes.'

Raoul jerked.

'Yes, the sound is awful. But….'

'….with the time it will cease.'

'You learn fast. Now, there's an Information section.'

'Yes.'

'Enter it.'

'OK…I'm in.'

'Now find Catalogues.'

'Found it. Enter?'

'Yes.'

'I need a password.'

'Hm…seems your implant is not at its full capacity yet.'

'Of course. You were supposed to be larger than life.'

Iason smiled.

'Leave the section and then try entering it again.'

'I'm in!'

'Good. Now find Library.'

'It's not here. Maybe some other section?'

'No. Search carefully.'

'It's not here.'

Iason palmed his forehead, confused and worried.

'Can you open the search engine?'

'Yes.'

'Search for whatever is there for Dana Bahn.'

'It says item not found.'

'Just what I thought. She altered your implant.'- Iason sighed.

'Can she do that?'

'Yes. Her contract grants her this right. Perhaps she sensed some kind of a threat and simply erased the data. Ignorance is sometimes a bliss.'

'What kind of a threat?'

'I've no idea.'

'I'd like to take a look at that contract of Hers. Where can I find it?'

'In the Library.'

'Until I find my way to get in there, can you briefly summarize the main points?'- now sighed Raoul, angrily.

'Like I said, my memory has been altered. I remember some things but I completely forgot others. The deceased are not supposed to walk with the living ones and share their memories.'

Iason stood up and finished his glass in one gulp.

'Going to visit Riki?'- asked Raoul, with the familiar pang of jealousy in the chest. That mongrel really had all the seven lives of the cat!

'Yes,'- smiled Iason a sad smile.

'What do the doctors say?'

'Not much. They don't really talk to me at all. Except for the Head Doctor who keeps talking to me when others are still trying to find out where they stand in this situation.'

'Naturally. You founded the hospital. He should be thankful to you. You made him Head Doctor, in fact. I issued a secrecy warrant to the entire hospital floor so your presence there should be safe for the time being. Elite Units are at your service.'

'I noticed. With them all around there, the rumour spread that a foreign prince was brought to Midas Central Hospital.'

'It's far better that Iason Mink for now. At least they will let Riki get well normally.'

'I know. You are a real friend, Raoul. Can Daryl give me a lift?'

'Of course. Like I said, it's still your Penthouse.'

_Friends make pretence of following to the grave,_

_But before one is in it, their minds are turned_

_And making the best of their way back to life_

_And living people, and things they understand. _(R. Frost)

Riki's pale and bony hand was slowly moving on the bed quilt tracing the stitches on it; his beautiful dark eyes were fixed on the ceilings, motionless. Katze was standing by the foot of the bed, shaken with the news. Iason would soon arrive. What would he tell him? And…how?

'I'll open the blinds. It's dark in here,'- said Katze just for the sake of breaking the silence that seemed to be at the point of explosion.

'I wouldn't be able to tell the difference anyway,'- whispered Riki.

'Iason will soon be here. He'll know what to do,'- said Katze as he pulled the blinds open to let some sunshine in. Iason had always known what to do, even though it didn't seem this way at the first glance. The pavements were still wet with rain and the big trees in the hospital park were dripping wet with the wind. Katze chose not to tell Riki about how Iason's status had recently changed, -'what did you say?'

'I said, do you already know the institution where he'll place me?'

'Stop fucking around. Iason will never give you up,'- snapped Katze.

'Nobody needs a blind pet.'

'You are more than his pet, Riki,'- Katze softened his voice, -'and you know that.'

TO BE CONTINUED


End file.
